Syngas Analysis

Application Summary

Measuring Hydrogen Sulfide in Syngas

Produced through the gasification of coal, solid waste, and various other carbon-containing feedstocks, syngas is important as a fuel for certain internal combustion engines as well as a raw material for the Fischer-Tropsch process, which produces synthetic liquid hydrocarbon fuels from the syngas. The composition of syngas varies widely depending on the feedstock type, but typically comprises some mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and methane.

The feedstock to syngas production often contains some hydrogen sulfide, especially when produced from coal or biomass. Since H2S degrades the syngas quality by making it corrosive and producing SO2 emissions, H2S levels have to be carefully controlled in the syngas product. The variation in feedstock type also brings large variation in H2S loading, thus requiring a method of continuous H2S monitoring in the syngas production process.

The OMA H2S Analyzer uses a high-resolution UV-Vis spectrophotometer to measure real-time H2S concentration in a syngas process stream. The fast response of the photometric technology combined with the transparency of the syngas background in the UV-Vis wavelength domain makes the OMA an ideal instrument for online syngas H2S analysis. This system also has additional benches available for adding analytes (e.g. COS or other sulfur compounds).